As part of new growth measures spearheaded by the UK’s export credit agency, up to £13 billion of direct lending will be made available to help boost orders for British exporters across key industrial sectors.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has said that, as part of the recently announced Industrial Strategy, UK Export Finance (UKEF) will introduce new product to secure critical minerals supply.
UKEF also plans to legislate to increase its statutory commitment limit to support more businesses. The department will review its operating mandate to consider taking on a broader trade and investment finance remit.
Outlined in the Industrial Strategy, UKEF will now have greater flexibility of direct lending powers to support all eight Industrial Strategy sectors, from clean industries and life sciences to advanced manufacturing and defence.
The £13 billion marks a £3 billion uplift in UKEF’s facility, DBT points out. Of this £13 billion, at least £3 billion will be used to stimulate defence exports, demonstrating the growing importance of this sector to economic and national security.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “By unlocking export opportunities and supporting innovation across key sectors through mechanisms like direct lending, UKEF is helping to drive sustainable economic growth, create highly skilled jobs and strengthen Britain’s place as a go-to trading partner.”
To encourage growth at a local level, the DBT plans to expand its network of 24 local export finance managers to give focus on city regions and clusters where key sectors have a presence. Export finance managers provide free and impartial guidance to businesses on their export finance needs.
See HERE for more details of UKEF’s products.
Department for Business and Trade
We are the department for economic growth. We support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country.
